As with previous years I thought I’d create a new Newark Air Museum News thread to use for short updates and news snippets from eastern Nottinghamshire.

As the year progresses I will provide updated details of museum activities in here!

This could include such things as the Indoor Aeroboot / Aerojumble Table Top Sale – 3 March 2018; etc., other event news, new arrivals etc. which can also be found in here!

Many thanks to those people who have visited the museum in 2017 and we hope to see you again this year and a Happy New Year to you all.

Could a Moderator please lock the 2017 Newark Air Museum News thread?

Whilst the museum is closed today (1 January) we’re back open at 10am tomorrow, Tuesday 2 January 2018. We have an exciting few months ahead as we finally get ready to install the new café & toilet facility on the Southfield Site, which is land that the museum purchased back in 1995. #NAMdeveloping

If you’re visiting us this weekend it’s best to approach the museum along Drove Lane from the A17 direction; it’s the Carole Nash Classic Bike Guide Winter Classic event on Showground & it may get busy by the A46 junction.

Yesterday we received confirmation that we have been successful in securing an ‘incomplete’ Puma helicopter for our collection here in eastern Nottinghamshire. Potential arrival date, time etc. still to be confirmed, but it could be quite quick.

We have now uploaded some more photos to the Viggen Valet gallery – we feel that the 1st painting session was a success, more coats will be required & the right temperature/humidity are essential for a good ‘paint refreshment’ job to be completed!

We’re lining up 2 weeks’ worth of open cockpit sessions over the forthcoming half-term holiday period (10th to 25th February, 2018) – starts off this Saturday with Vulcan XM594 on the list – more details in here!

Confirmation just added to the museum website that we’ve been successful in securing a Chinook fuselage for the collection; confirmed as ZA717 from RAF Cranwell; more info here http://www.newarkairmuseum.org/latest-news

ZA717: I was coming on shift at 12:00 on the day it crashed down the Falklands and had it been delayed I would have been on board carrying out the post maintenance Rotortune, was involved in the recovery, assisting in investigation and getting it to port Stanley, and then in charge of loading it on the ship to return to UK, I wondered where the fuselage had ended up after it sat at Fleetlands. Due to timings after the one at RAF Odiham had the same issue, but managed to stay upright, if the signal had got to the Falklands in time it might not have flown, or so rumour has it. Look forward to popping over again after she arrives.

ZA717 also has strong & poignant connections for people heavily involved with the museum e.g. on the day that it crashed, our groundsman opted to fly in a Sea King rather than ZA717, he was with the RAF Police Dog Section.

We're looking forward to developing an education role for ZA717 and will eventually give a great opportunity to engage with visiting youngsters (and a few oldsters), plus it has great accessibility opportunities for wheelchair users.

Thank you for your reply, as a side note it was not normally permitted for passengers to fly on any aircraft that was on an Air Test, especially not a post maintenance one, it is possible that this could have been relaxed down in the Falklands, but not that I was aware of, of course we did fly passengers on normal flights and on R&R trips to other parts of the islands.

Again, thank you for the input - some photographs of the immediate aftermath of the incident have been shared on our Twitter timeline - there's an outside chance that I misunderstood what I was told about the his Sea King flight that day and the reason for it; I'll have another chat about it. Always round ZA717 is generating a lot of interest and comment!

Hi and no problem, as I said the rules were relaxed on occasions down the Falklands. I also have a picture from that day, and will bring along a scanned version for you when I pop over for a visit after she arrives with you. I can also add information, if required on the initial response and subsequent 'recovery'.

I'm not 100% certain what the final intention will be with regard to locating and fitting parts - I suspect an airframe assessment will need to be complete first to check how much the structure was affected by the crash.

One aspect that is firming up relates to the education space that will be created being dedicated to the memory of a local Sgt Air Loadmaster, lost on 22 Sept 1998, while operating with 7 Sqn; but more about that in the coming weeks.

Thanks for the info, with regard structure the Landing Gear and mounts were ok, the rear LH had snapped off and we fitted a replacement, this was needed due to transporting by road to Port Stanley, inside was ok as far as seats and cockpit, the ramp should be ok, the only thing that would not work would be the aft transmission and pylon as that was twisted off and the remains where it was attached were removed by fair means and foul to seperate the pylon and controls, the LH engine took a bashing and the mounts might be suspect, but would from memory hazard a guess that the RH engine would fit fine, as for the forward transmission and pylon I think they would still be able to go together safely. Also I think other than the LH side that had a few dents, the fuel tank attachments should still be ok. However, I doubt that the hydraulic and electrics sytems could be recovered looking at the current pictures.

This is all dependant on how it has been handled during the amount of dismantling that is evident and the how fuselage has been managed/transported since it left the Falkland Islands.

Many thanks for that - there's little doubt that there will be other things to worry about, but everyone is really excited about the history of ZA717 and what opportunities it is going to give to the museum!